CULIACAN, SINOLOA, MEXICO - The USC men's basketball team led by 29 points each by freshmen Davon Jefferson and O.J. Mayo defeated the Caballeros de Culiacan 102-82 tonight (Sept. 1) in an exhibition game played in Culiacan, Mexico.

2007-2008 Outlook: People putting out “pre-preseason” All-America teams and not including Mayo just aren’t thinking clearly. Mayo is an instant 20-5-5 presence, and you can be sure that Tim Floyd will find a way to make the most out of his immensely talented recruit – both in terms of Mayo’s development, and the overall success of his program.......

As far as the draft goes, Mayo isn’t on a different level compared to the other 2008 Top 5 hopefuls in the way that Oden and Durant were this year, but his NBA eligibility will still give league bottom feeders plenty of reason to think about tanking come next spring. [Read Full Article]

August 5, 2007 Love has shown a skill level that is absolutely unheard of amongst big men in the college ranks—knocking down NBA 3-pointers with ease, putting the ball on the floor with either hand, using pump-fakes, spin-moves, jump-stops and creating his own shot with fantastic footwork. He’s rebounding the ball well, throwing beautiful outlet passes, contesting shots around the basket, and even coming up with a few blocks on occasion.

Love’s body looks better and better every time we see him, as he’s shed a good amount of weight and is now probably only 10 pounds or so away from being in optimal shape. He can’t necessarily be called an athletic player, but playing next to or going up against physically gifted big men like Brook Lopez, Steven Hill and Robert Dozier, he has looked absolutely fine and has not had a problem doing whatever he wants out on the floor.

In the voluntary workout in between sessions he decided to show up for, Love looked just as impressive. This setting is tailor made to show off his terrific skill-level and fundamentals—and he did a great job draining shot after shot, kissing 15 footers off the glass after a sweet pivot move, conducting step-back moves, turnarounds, and much more. He’s really making an excellent case for himself to be considered a one and done lottery prospect with what he’s showing so far. He’ll be ready to deliver at the collegiate level from day one. [Read Full Article]

Freshman post player absorbs punishment from Aboya, dishes out some of his own, and enjoys both experiences.

By Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 14, 2007 Kevin Love is enthusiastic after two days of UCLA basketball practice. He wasn't shy about saying that junior forward Alfred Aboya knocked him down four times. "And that doesn't happen very often," Love said.

Speaking after Love on a conference call Saturday, Coach Ben Howland wondered if Love had mentioned how many players he had knocked down. And the answer was no. "It was a few," Howland said.

While Love said it was fun watching televised snippets of other teams cavorting through "Midnight Madness" practices, many of them filled with more singing, dancing and goofing around than actual basketball, UCLA's prized freshman post player said what he went through -- "practices lots longer and higher intensity than what I'm used to" -- was more useful than getting some TV time at midnight. "We're trying to get an edge on everybody else," Love said.

Mayo's first shot inside the Galen Center was an airball Friday night during a two-ball competition in which he was paired with a female student, but the freshman redeemed himself by scoring 17 points during the scrimmage. "Everyone had fun," Mayo said. "That was the main thing, to make sure we had fun."

Still, Coach Tim Floyd expressed confidence in his team's outside shooters, who will benefit from the addition of freshman guard O.J. Mayo.

"It's a question, it's just not a huge concern," Floyd said. "We've still got some guys who can shoot the ball."

Floyd noted that Lewis and Hackett shot well from three-point range after slow starts. After making only 20% through his first 15 games, Lewis shot 41.7% the rest of the season. Hackett made 38.1% in his last 18 games after shooting only 21.4% in his first 19 games.

"They both went through some freshman adjustments and shot it better later in the year," Floyd said.

Mayo said he had confidence in nearly all of his teammates to make three-pointers, including forwards Kasey Cunningham, Keith Wilkinson, Kyle Austin and Taj Gibson. What about 7-foot center Mamadou Diarra?

Why are you so excited about Kevin Love? He isn't even the best player on his team, is he?

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Freshmen

2008 Mock Draft if he comes out after this coming year he is ranked #5

Love has shown a skill level that is absolutely unheard of amongst big men in the college ranks—knocking down NBA 3-pointers with ease, putting the ball on the floor with either hand, using pump-fakes, spin-moves, jump-stops and creating his own shot with fantastic footwork. He’s rebounding the ball well, throwing beautiful outlet passes, contesting shots around the basket, and even coming up with a few blocks on occasion.

Love’s body looks better and better every time we see him, as he’s shed a good amount of weight and is now probably only 10 pounds or so away from being in optimal shape. He can’t necessarily be called an athletic player, but playing next to or going up against physically gifted big men like Brook Lopez, Steven Hill and Robert Dozier, he has looked absolutely fine and has not had a problem doing whatever he wants out on the floor.

In the voluntary workout in between sessions he decided to show up for, Love looked just as impressive. This setting is tailor made to show off his terrific skill-level and fundamentals—and he did a great job draining shot after shot, kissing 15 footers off the glass after a sweet pivot move, conducting step-back moves, turnarounds, and much more. He’s really making an excellent case for himself to be considered a one and done lottery prospect with what he’s showing so far. He’ll be ready to deliver at the collegiate level from day one. [Read Full Article]

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Incoming freshman Kevin Love (Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year) was rated seventh among the nation's best post men. Love was also named to the Super 6 Freshmen team.

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Kevin Love's performance at last summer's ABCD camp cemented his status as one of the elite players in the nation. Lake Oswego's (Ore.) 6-foot-10, 255-pound power forward is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2007 by RISE and is headed to UCLA next year.

In just four years, Ben Howland has reestablished UCLA as both an elite team on the court and an elite program in recruiting circles . Last week, Howland received a verbal commitment from the class of 2008’s Jrue Holiday, a guard prospect from North Hollywood’s Campbell Hall who is ranked by Scout.com as the No. 5 overall prospect in the country. Some have said Holiday is the best guard prospect out of Southern California since Baron Davis.

Holiday will not be the only topflight recruit coming to Westwood in ’08. The combo guard will be joined by Malcolm Lee, Jerime Anderson and Drew Gordon – all highly touted recruits. Lee is a dynamic guard who can play anywhere from point guard to small forward and is rated as the No. 17 overall prospect in the country.

Anderson is a true point guard who rates as the No. 29 prospect,

and Gordon is a slightly undersized center and the No. 30 prospect in the nation.

L.A.'s fresh faces By Jason King, Yahoo! Sports November 1, 2007 LOS ANGELES – For the most part, the top two freshmen in college basketball say they've been left alone. O.J. Mayo has signed an autograph or two for classmates at USC, and UCLA's Kevin Love – mainly because of his size – has been recognized while standing in line for a chili cheese dog at Pink's. "But it hasn’t been a problem at all," the 6-foot-10 Love said Thursday at Pac-10 basketball media day. "It's not like there's paparazzi following me around or anything." At least not yet. Even in the city of Bryant, Beckham and Britney, no one would be surprised if Love and Mayo became two of Los Angeles' more famous faces by the end of the college basketball season. Or shoot, maybe by the beginning.

Might want to start tracking that kid Rose at Memphis too. Man this kid is a pure freak of a ball player, he is indeed the 2nd coming of Jason Kidd. If we snagged him and put him on the floor with Amir,Max and Stuckey, LAWD HA'Mercy.

Might want to start tracking that kid Rose at Memphis too. Man this kid is a pure freak of a ball player, he is indeed the 2nd coming of Jason Kidd. If we snagged him and put him on the floor with Amir,Max and Stuckey, LAWD HA'Mercy.

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From everything I have heard he is at the same level as Mayo and Love.

Memphis’ Rose makes strong first impression

The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. | Derrick Rose didn’t take long to adjust to the college game. Rose, Memphis’ highly touted freshman, had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in his collegiate debut as the No. 3 Tigers beat Tennessee-Martin 102-71 on Monday night in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic.

"He plays beyond his years," Bone said Thursday, shortly after his team arrived in Los Angeles. "He has such a great feel for the game. He's not just a good scorer and rebounder. What he does better than anybody else is pass the ball. He'll allow UCLA this year to have a very good push. He's able to deliver the ball in transition to the right people night in and night out."

Love was out to impress from the opening tip. The 6-foot-10, 270-pound freshman scored on consecutive dunks that had him flying off the rim and the fans oohing at Pauley Pavilion.Then he whipped an outlet pass the length of the court to Russell Westbrook, who scored to give the Bruins an 18-2 lead.

They leaped up and bumped chests as a timeout was called.Love showed his versatility by hitting a 3-pointer. Later, he was knocked to the floor on a hard foul by Julius Thomas,but got up and made one of two free throws.

Love swatted away a shot in the second half, sending the ball out to midcourt.The freshman scored seven straight points in the second half, including five free throws, for UCLA's largest lead, 51-27. He finished 6-of-8 from the field, 9-of-11 from the line, had three assists and no fouls.

Experts say Bruins recruiting class really rates No. 2 UCLA has a class of incoming players -- including three local guards -- that is ranked just as high as the current teams.

Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 15, 2007

UCLA's basketball team is ranked second in the country, and by the time all national letters of intent are signed and turned in, the rating for this year's Bruins' recruiting class is expected to be at least as high.

UCLA flexed its drawing power Wednesday, the first day high school seniors could officially commit during the NCAA's early signing period, by securing three of the best guards not only in Southern California but also in the country, plus a power forward from San Jose.

Jrue Holiday, a 6-foot-3 guard from North Hollywood Campbell Hall rated by some as the nation's best high school senior, will join Jerime Anderson, a 6-1 point guard from Anaheim Canyon High, Malcolm Lee, a sharp-shooting 6-4 guard from Riverside North High, and 6-8 power forward Drew Gordon from San Jose Archbishop Mitty on the Bruins' 2008-09 team.

"Needless to say, I'm a happy guy," Coach Ben Howland said after receiving the paperwork from all four recruits.......

Gordon said he was sold on UCLA because Howland did not sweet talk him. "Coach Howland is a businessman," Gordon said. "He just tells it like it is; nothing fake."

Gordon said he was also influenced by Love who, after three games, leads UCLA in scoring (20.7) and rebounding (10.3). As to whether Gordon gets a chance to play with Love, Gordon said, "I've been talking to him about coming back, trying to convince him. I don't think it's working, though.

Love seems to do everything by the book, whether the book is Emily Post's Etiquette or The John Wooden Pyramid of Success. Love's coach, Ben Howland, likes to compare his 6-10, 260-pound freshman center to San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, specifically because of Duncan's media nickname: The Big Fundamental. Howland considers this phrase to be a high compliment, like Magic or The Pearl. But many writers who use it to describe Duncan do so to gently mock his "boring" public image.

Well, maybe it's not the fundamentals that are boring. Maybe it's the boring that's boring. Kevin Love's low-post footwork is so precise he is ready to try the pasodoble on Dancing With the Stars. He shoots free throws like he's Reggie Miller, sets a screen that could pass for a 3,000-square-foot Colonial and, like his father's friend Wes Unseld, is a singular contemporary artist in the discipline of throwing outlet passes. But Love is not boring.

Mayo, one of the nation's most prized recruits, led the Trojans with 32 points, but he couldn't help them overcome 19 turnovers and 18-of-32 free-throw shooting. His points were a school record by a freshman in his debut.

O.J. Mayo has been a celebrity since he starred in Kentucky high school basketball as a precocious seventh-grader. But growing up famous isn't always pretty. Mayo occasionally allowed the pressures of celebrity to push him outside the boundaries of good judgment. His high school dust-ups became national news. When he got benched for a playoff game for missing a class, it made ESPN. Basketball offers a respite for this 6-5 freshman who runs a team like a point guard and scores like a shooting guard. "Whenever things are bad for me, not happening well for me," he says, "I come to a basketball court and play basketball and let out some emotions or anger."

The basketball always has belonged to Derrick Rose. At the high school level, a point guard with his degree of talent gets handed the ball and the license to do most anything he wants. "It's totally different now," he says. Memphis plays a free-flowing offensive style that allows Rose, who is 6-4, to use his athleticism and skill to manufacture scoring opportunities. But the flow is as important as the freedom.

Throughout the preseason, Indiana basketball was in the news for all the wrong reasons: investigations, rules violations, staff changes. Want a right reason? Eric Gordon is a Hoosier.

He is a 6-4 shooting guard with a tight stroke that'll remind veteran basketball fans of Bradley All-American Hersey Hawkins, except that Gordon is athletic enough to jump over Hawkins. Gordon says all the tumult hasn't distracted him from preparing for his freshman season. Or maybe he's too tired to lift his head. IU coach Kelvin Sampson is known for many things now, but his lasting reputation is as a coach who drills his players like they just arrived at Parris Island.

Frank Martin is surrounded by freshmen at every Kansas State practice. That's not so bad when one of them is as gifted as 6-10, 235-pound power forward Michael Beasley. But don't think that'll sway Martin, K-State's rookie head coach, into believing any first-year collegian has something to say that you need to hear. "What do they know about what it takes to succeed in college basketball?" Martin says. "They have no understanding. They can't answer any question as far as what it takes to succeed in college basketball. Why should they be the ones answering about what it takes for our team to succeed?"